Acquisition headlines (1/10 -1/16/2022)
US Air Force invests $60M in the R&D of the ‘world’s fastest supersonic airliner.’ (3D printing industry) “Awarded via the USAF’s AFWERX innovation arm, the ‘STRATFI’ funding […]
Search Results for program budget
PPBE Reform is getting hot, here are some views
The archaic defense budget process based on five-year plans, long decision making and excessive time to revenue keeps the most innovative companies from ever wanting […]
Acquisition headlines (1/3 – 1/9/2022)
Navy, Air Force flight stats have been dive bombing for two decades: CBO. (Breaking Defense) ““In general, fleetwide availability rates have declined for both services, […]
Podcast: Other Transactions Authorities
In this episode of Acquisition Talk, we listen in on a recent event on Other Transactions Authority hosted by George Mason University’s Center for Government […]
First DoD Comptroller slams naive reformers who invented PPBS
Here’s DoD’s third Comptroller Charles Hitch testifying to Congress about the need for the new management system he was implementing in DoD: the Planning, Programming, […]
Acquisition headlines (12/27/2021 – 1/2/2022)
National Defense Authorization Act provisions sparked support and skepticism from several experts. (Nextgov) “Several of the officials pointed to the noteworthiness of section 1004 in […]
Inflationary lessons for the Department of Defense
Here’s Friedrich Hayek discussing the negative consequences of economist’s presumption that they can control macroeconomic outcomes — from his 1974 Nobel prize speech The Pretense […]
Will defense tech be able to compete with an innovating enemy?
When a program manager in the Pentagon is getting threat briefs, they’re your best friend before the program starts. They want to hear all about […]
Acquisition headlines (12/20 – 12/26/2021)
United States approves possible FMS of EMALS and AAG to France. (Naval News) “The Government of France has requested to buy one (1) Electromagnetic Aircraft […]
The state of defense acquisition as 2021 draws to a close
Previously, I discussed the messaging from the Reagan National Defense Forum that “Time is running out with Silicon Valley.” It was intimated that major acquisition […]
Acquisition headlines (12/13 – 12/19/2021)
The US military’s future: waves of killer drone swarms. (1945) “300-Plus Swarm Drones Just Flew In This DARPA Test: One drone armed with a missile or a bomb can […]
Does acquisition depend too much on assumptions, not enough on accountability?
James Roherty’s classic 1970 book, The Decisions of Robert S McNamara has a pair of interesting discussions on the takeover of systems analysis on military […]
Why does DoD often take 10-15 years to deliver “big juicy targets”?
DoD still operates with enterprise processes and management practices designed around programs from 60 years ago. These program-centric constraints drive longer timelines, fewer quantities, and […]
Acquisition headlines (12/6 – 12/12/2021)
Electric Sky wins DARPA grant to work on focused power beaming system for drones. (Geek Wire) “A startup called Electric Sky says it’s begun building its […]
Commercial tech, “fast follower” strategies, and a framework for rapid acquisition
Here’s a flash talk with DIU’s Mike Brown at the Aspen Security Forum: There are so many innovations in the commercial sector that could be […]